Metal wheel



June 30, 1931. Y E. E. WALKER 1,812,226

METAL WHEEL Filed Nov. 24, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A TTORNEYS.

June 30, 1931. E. E. W L ER 1,812,226 I METAL WHEEL Filed Nov. 24 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F2357 2 VE TOR. 7

' ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 1 931:

UNITED STATES, Y

" so be used.

' opening,

' 50 formed: separately EDWARD E. WALKER; or ERIE, PEfiNSYLVANIL'ASSTGNQB no we mLLnmLE iBoN COMPANY, or ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA, e conromwro or IENNSYLYANIA.

METAL .npplica'tion fi led November 24, lQZGJiSeriaI "lloi lpj89l a a Q In the forming of metal wheels, certain metal, such as malleable iron is verymuc more desirable in the forming of the hub and spokes-than relatively harder" metal,

5 such as cast steel. Thereare several reasons for this. more readily to thinw'alled nicely formed castingsand also can be more readily worked and. machined after its formation ,Thus it material and more cheaply thanwhen formed of caststeel. The difiiculty in usingmalleable metal for the hubs of driving wheels is that the walls of an ordinarykey-way with which said hubs are provided are not sufliciently strong,-' or dense, driving strains and shocks to which these walls are subjected. In consequence, it has been common to form wheels using malleable castings for the frame,

outside of the hub and'caststeel for the hub.

The "present invention. is directed to a a means by which hubs of relatively'soft metal,

used and it consists broadly in supplying such hub with a metal insert of relatively hard metal, such as'steel, and preferably steel that may be hardened'for the key-Way.

Various waysof introducing the insert may As exemplified in the present invention it consists in forming the key-way 'ina segment'of metal and forcing it into a groove formed in the walls of strain on the comparatively small amount of metal of the key-way is then sustained by the relatively hard metal-of. the metal bar. Themalleable, or soft metal of the hub will readily sustain the strain incidentto the metal bar because a great deal larger surface is interposed in receiving the strains than would be practicah in' an ordinary key-way and becausethesteel jbar, being in the nature of a permanent fit in the groove,

can be pressed intothe groove so tightly as, to prevent, underiall conditions, any initial movement'of the bar in the groove.

. While the invention is applicable to malleable hubs in which the wheel frame is Mall'eable 'iron lends itself 7 whole 'rn adeyli ghter 'and-y'oheaper. is. practicalto make a lighter wheel of such to sustain the.

or wheel structure such as malleable iron may be successfully 1 inseotiomon' the line in'Figsll.

v the hub preferably by a pressed fit; The;

provided with from the hub a full real-" metal" forthe hub, which is also @the pm-e era-ble metal for the wheel frame, permits the weight incident, to. a joint between these ization of the invention is onlg; secured h the hub 'andwvheel parts maybe saved and thus the vvheel as a are what known as uns'prung we'ight and.

all saving possible here "is pa-rt icu larlyde sirable; Features and details 10% the invention willappear from the-specification and claiml T 'The'invention as exemplified is illustrated '1 Fig; "his aside elevation of the'whe'el';

Fig; 2 a section on the *line in "Fig. 1.

in seetion, on the; line in lFig. 4.

in *the} accompanying 'drawingsas fiol-lows Fig. ;4a section onfthe line 4- in Fi 3.

I Fig. :5 a side elevation of a wheel in W ich l the spokes are formed] separately Efrem hub;

Fig. 6 a seetiomonithedine 6-6 in Fig. 5.

' Fig.7 a section on the line 7 7 in 8.;

artly Fig. 8 aside elevation of the hub, 1

the iconstruct'orl shown '--in l mafiks 'the' hub" and? the eka -"rhe ,Spokes ar-re form el integrally with *the hub;

3' marks tile ffe'lloe and' th'e rim: "The rim j isi provided with a fbeveledsur f-aceb fseaj t ing by a clamping pl ate qadrawn up by clampi ng'ibo'lts' 8, thisrini strucfturej Fform ing fno Pa Of t p ese t. inv nt on A tipe 9 is arranged en the run and a brake y bolts 10a.

of the axle being screw-threaded at l lland f a'nut 15 by means of which.

the hub is forced'on to the tapered portion ofthe axle, 1

lheaxle is provided with the usual keyas ofmaking these tWoparts -i-nteg rally so;that

seat 18 in which is placed the key 16. This key operates in a key seat 17 in the hub. The key seat 17 is in a key seat insert 18, as shown of segmental form, and arranged in a groove 19 in the wall of the opening of the hub.

The hub and its spokes are preferably formed of a relatively soft metal, such as malleable iron and the key seat insert is preferably formed of steel, or relatively hard metal, and is preferably secured in the groove 19 by being pressed into place so as to make a very tight pressed fit. This when pressed in with suflicient force secures the key seat insert in a permanent manner in the hub opening.

With this construction all the advantages of the relatively soft metal wheel are obtainable and it is practical to make the spokes and hub integral in that the same material may be used advantageously for both. This reduces the Weight very materially and also the cost of the wheel.

' In the alternative construction shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8, the wheel spokes, or wheel frame, is formed separately from the wheel hub. The wheel hub has its sleeve 1a with an interior flange 16 against which the inner ring of the spokes 2a are placed. A flange 10 is placed opposite the flange 1b and bolts lcZ extend through the flanges and the spoke ring and thus the spokes are clamped in the hub. Otherwise the structure is similar to the structure illustrated and described in Figs. 1 to 41:.

Preferably the thrust surface of the hub engaged by the insert is greater than the thrust surface of the metal in the axle and preferably the engaged surface in the hub is enough greater than the engaged surface of the axle to compensate for the difference in the thrust resisting capabilities of the metal.

WVhat I claim as new is A metal wheel hub formed of relatively soft malleable cast metal having an axle opening therein with a key-sustaining insert of relatively hard metal permanently secured in the Walls of the opening and provided with key shoulders on its inner face;

the walls of the opening including the inner face of the insert forming an all-metal seatmg surface for the openng. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

EDWARD E. WALKER. 

